Tanritsions

In Pierre Descamps’ work one can note a concern with the standards of mid-twentieth century German photography, a sober and formalist grammar grounded in a respect for order. That being said, underlying the rigid aesthetic of this rationalist culture is an engagement with the social realm. On top of that, the skateboarding counterculture which the artist is involved in presupposes an active search for dynamism in public spaces that enables an interaction with and utilization by the community. Over recent years the French-German artist has installed sculptures in various points around Berlin: parks, squares, stations and vacant lots, among others, although they are not conceived as such by passers-by. Contrary to what one might expect, the goal was not to record the interactions in this altered environment but to acknowledge the erosion or transformation that these connections bring about in the works placed there, leaving people’s manifest experiences out of the picture. The result is rendered graphically in a format reminiscent of the poster, featuring an image of the sculpture along with the site and the dates it was installed and taken away, documenting the social event, with its possible elitist associations that conjures up in another context.

Déjà-vu (Kottbusser Tor) is a stepped cement sculpture which was a fixture for a period of two years in the urban landscape of an area of Berlin with a high rate of drug addiction and homelessness. The progressive deterioration of the piece prompted its removal. The artist, who also works in the field of restoration, did not however restore the work with the standards and professional rigour generally applied in this activity but instead completely transformed the work, going far beyond superficial repairs, and places it today within a site with very different social implications.

The exhibition is rounded off with another type of graphic material: a series of numbered invitations scattered on the floor. Are they left over from some prior event? The spectator is now given a new means of interacting with the work, addressing the transition from the public to the private, where mistakes are embraced through material alterations and relational connotations.